General

Fact: Half of all local searches are conducted from a mobile phone. Are you ready to tap this market?

If you have a business like a retail shop, restaurant, service provider to a local area or florist that serves a small geographical market, people might be searching for your outlet, product or service from a mobile phone.

Will your web site appear in their search result? If it does, will it be readable when they click over or all the mumbo-jumbo on your regular website will show up in a teeny-weeny condensed format (unreadable).

India is one of the largest markets in the world with a very strong mobile population. With the availability of cheap data plans, starting from about Rs 100 per month) and a large number of Android phones (starting from about Rs 5,000), the number of people searching for information and accessing Facebook, Twitter and other social applications has really grown. When they want to locate the nearest restaurant or find out if a particular joint serves a certain cuisine, they do not turn to yellow pages but open up Google and search on that.

Your outlet, whether a restaurant, bakery shop, coffee joint, spa, salon or movie theater, needs a mobile website so that these users can locate the address, call up to make appointments or simply look up whether you offer what they need or not. Don’t lose these potential customers – if you are not to be found in these mobile searches, your competitor will suck them away with their mobile websites.

The development fee for your mobile websites start at a low Rs 10,000 and this is a small investment to tap a big market. It is not about whether you should get a mobile site done; it is about when you will get one. Check out the details.

Very recently a minister in India went public with his ideas on the censorship of social networking websites like Facebook and Google. Needless to say that his preposterous idea was rebuked everywhere, even by the members of his own ruling alliance. It was interesting to note how the media covered the news and published scathing reports about the wild idea of the minister in question and his non-conforming behaviours of the past.

The question arises – Why did the regular media i.e. print and electronic media houses react with such concern and against the censorship of social networking websites on Internet? Such practice of censorship in whatever limited or effective forms does exist in few authoritarian countries of the world.

History of mankind is full of various ways and means adopted by political leaders through the times to address the masses to achieve their desired political goals. Control of media especially the print, recordings, radio, television and cinema by the political masters is very well known.

Very desire to censor the contents of any form of communication medium is the de-facto recognition of the mass communication reach and powers of the medium.

For simplicity sake let us list down the present mass communication media.

Print Media

Recordings

Cinema

Radio

Television

Internet
& now,

Mobile

Some disagree to ¨Mobile¨ being listed as a mass communication medium. Some consider it as just a tool to access the Internet only. Here we look at why should the ¨mobile¨ be considered as a form of mass media in its own right.

Let us examine an example, when radio was very much an established form of mass media, the introduction of television though being a similar electronic broadcast medium brought in a new media all together for a simple reason, it carried live pictures of the event being broadcast. In simpler terms, television was doing something which radio could not due to the very character of the medium.

On similar lines, mobile form of Internet access has specific characteristics which sets it apart from regular non-mobile Internet access. Further, the mobile / smart phones have characteristics which sets it apart from regular desktop computers.

A user on a regular desktop computer interacts with Internet using monitor, keyboard and mouse where keyboard and mouse being the inputs.

Availability of a plethora of input interfaces on the mobile phones defines a character of the Internet access over mobile phones much different from a desktop computer.

How does it really differ?

Mobile phones being mobile are carried around

Connectivity to network – Internet is (mostly) always ON.

Authenticated payment modes are built-in due to service providers.

Users make use of the medium at their will or impulse.

Communication is most effective due to very reliable audience information.

Location and social context of the user is captured (if sensors are enabled).

Serves as maybe the only personal mass communication medium.

A mobile user out on the street and while on move clicks a picture of a live event and uploads it in real time and mass publishes to viewers and tweets and mass communicates about it while still moving. While a static desktop computer Internet user´s activity is limited to the four walls.

Maybe the earlier mentioned minister known for his unrealistic assumptions had assumed that Internet users exist on a few regular desktop computers alone and can be regulated through some bureaucratic means. The presence of many many many more users of mobile phone based Internet may not have occurred to him.

The ever growing adoption of Internet enabled smart/mobile phones makes the concept of personal mass communication medium so strong that intelligent users and the media houses found the idea of censor of social networking sites on Internet as absurd and idiotic.

Millions of mobile phone Internet users tweeting on tweeter and posting, commenting, sharing and liking on facebook is beyond conventional censorship of mass mediums. At best the complete mobile Internet connectivity has to be blocked / switched off. Such scenarios do exist in few authoritarian societies alone where even SMS is blocked.

Mobile websites serves this new world wide mass communication media and much differently than conventional websites for desktop Internet. This requires a completely different thought on how to build websites for mobile access. The much practised offerings of optimizing existing websites to suit the small screens of mobile phones is far removed from the reality of mobile specific and mobile only websites.

Mobile websites is destined to bring about a revolution in the mass communication media.

Budgets for marketing have been spent in many ways by business owners. Growth of Internet provided an alternate and interactive medium compared to the traditional mediums for advertising and promoting the business.

A visually appealing and informative website has always served businesses well and continue to do so. Increasing popularity of mobile / smart phones to access the Internet brings about a few key changes with respect to, how businesses need to treat this medium of interactive marketing.

Traditional Websites : Objectives

Traditionally, websites have been designed with the objective of attracting the viewer to browse as much content of the website as possible with information presented in lucid form and further helped by aesthetics of the layout and colours.

With improvements in Internet website techniques and technologies, the visitor is now provided with active elements on the website with an objective to engage the visitor to interact, submit feedback, purchase, participate etc. through the website.

Design Parameters:

Visiting users to spend time to browse the website.

Quality information and aesthetics for lasting impression and re-visits.

Interactions for longer engagement, business transactions and re-visits.

It is important for a business website to present the relevant information in a very concise form with the aim to serve the expected query in the minds of the visitor.

When a person is using a mobile phone it is expected that she/he may like to make an immediate voice call to a real person to discuss business.

The visible screen area on a mobile is much smaller as compared to a regular desktop computer.

An attractive layout with colours and animations look clumsy and congested on a small screen. Small screen interface needs to be simple and easy to read on eyes.

Users visit the mobile websites from their mobile phones with an objective to seek quick information for a quick decision.

Design Parameters:

Users visit the website for short time with specific objectives.

Concise information for quick consumption and easy recall.

Simple, clean layout for comfortable reading on small screen.

Mobile / Telephone numbers for quick contact with business.

Unlike an advertisement platform oriented traditional websites, mobile websites for businesses should be more like a business communication – short, to the point with an option or an offer to reply and discuss further.

We can also discuss further and then proceed for a no-obligation quote if you give us a few details about your needs.

Advent of high speed wireless data networks and powerful hand held devices with computing resources matching those of a early 2000’s desktop has made the Internet omni-present. One can be anywhere and still be on the Internet, as long as the wireless services are available in the area and the device battery has the juice to deliver the mobile Internet experience. How do the classic and new modes differ?

Infographics are the flavour of the season and a good infographic can convey your information in a rather cool way. Our last infographic was from Google and showed some important stats about the super fast growth of mobile users and usage. Don’t you want to get a mobile website of your own, to address this fast growing reserve of smartphone users who will check out products and services from where they are? But where to begin?

The following infographic gives you top 10 tips to make your mobile website friendly for the users. Easier to use site inspires users to stay longer and coverts better. You can make more sales and get more leads from your mobile website by implementing these simple to apply ideas.

Microsoft Tag recently attempted to sum up this constantly changing space with a single infographic.

Here’s the summary: The mobile market is large; local searches, games, and YouTube are all doing well on Mobile; and socializing is the most prominent use of the mobile Internet. See the full infographic below.

“Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible”. These lines are not by me but by the famous American visionary Alvin Toffler. With the constant advancement with which the media world is moving uphill, our modes of communication have really changed a lot. Company or business promotion through mobile based websites has become a trend now and that it should be. This is because you can reach out to more customers because of this unusually unbelievable medium called the phone and with its gradual use; it has been converted into a technology itself.

A mobile compatible website does not only benefit the owner of the company, but it helps its customers too. Now that we have been bitten by this bug, life would be a bit difficult without these websites, which we can so easily access through our mobiles. There are some businesses, which should always use this technique, cause to their respective customers, this technology has become indispensable. These are:

SEARCH ENGINES:

Whenever people need information on any topic, this is THE place. Search engines have become a one place solution for all problems. So, these websites should be available on the phones too, making them more accessible to everybody.

DIRECTORIES:

Nowadays, everybody has stopped searching their telephone directory for addresses or phone numbers. It’s all in their phone. They just need to log in to the site and get your favourite restaurant’s number to book a table. But, what if they are confused about the location? Not to worry. These mobile based websites can show them the map too leading them to the exact place.

SOCIAL WEBSITES:

Can you find one person who can stay without clicking the ‘like’ button? It would have been really difficult if people had to log in and find their friends in these websites only through the desktops. Not only, do they serve as a medium among old friends, but it has also turned out to be a forum where you can actually interact properly with all your customers. This is really going to boost your business profile.

NEWSPAPERS (MEDIA):

Getting ready for work with a hassle everyday is a common story. In the mean time, people have to miss the tabloids about issues around them. Come on, it is important to know what is happening around you. Isn’t it? But still, they do not miss on any events. The newspaper industry has really taken this revolutionary step by launching their mobile based websites, which people can easily read on their way to work.

MOVIE THEATRES AND OTHER MODES OF ENTERTAINMENT:

Movie buffs find this particular technology very useful. Not only do they get an exact schedule of the different movies, but then they can also book their tickets through their mobile phones. Yes! No need of going all the way to the theatres to find houseful shows, no need of desktops either.

TRAVELLING:

Business officials have to keep on travelling from one place to another, very frequently. Is it possible to book tickets every time through the desktop or their travel agents? YES, but then it’s a big NO when there is a time crunch. They can book, change or even cancel their flight or train tickets through the mobile based websites.

ANTIVIRUS SOLUTIONS:

They have travelled in a very commendable speed from the monitors to the mobile screens. Yes, viruses are in VOGUE and as usual, the need for its solution, i.e. the antivirus software is also available. But if these software companies create mobile compatible websites, then these can be easily installed from the phone’s internet browser itself. Moreover any grievances from customers can also be answered through the mobile phone.

BANKS AND FINANCE ASSOCIATIONS:

In this fast moving age, this can actually be a real relief to some people. Instead of going to banks or checking ATMs, people can easily get their required information on their cell phones. That way, opening a mutual fund or transferring money from one account to another won’t be a big deal anymore. Even money transfer across nations could be a matter of 2 minutes.

STOCK MARKETS:

As a stock market agent, one always needs a full update on their required shares, within an interval of a few minutes. Bulls and bears keep on getting changed very randomly and quickly too. Moreover, if a desktop is unavailable, a stock broker can keep an update, if he can get across a stock agency’s website.

SATELLITE TELEVISION AND RADIOS:

Going to the shop to recharge the membership every month, or to book a special programme is a real waste of time. Instead these can be done from the phones themselves. All they need to do is enter the username and password and ABRACADABRA! Recharge is done, from your mobile phone itself.

These websites have become a part of their user’s life. Being able to check them whenever they need to has made them even more popular among users. Life would become a bit tough without these on the tip of our fingers, where we can actually get the solution to our problems, whenever we want them.